Nail salon and beauty studio website: what gets people in the door

People who open a nail or beauty site have usually decided what they want. They're checking what it costs, whether they can come now, and whether the place is clean and real. Can I walk in? Do you do gel-X? Are you open Sunday? What happens if I'm late?

In October 2026 we opened 38 independent sites in 17 towns across 10 states, on a phone, and looked at what people search for. Nail salons lead with the phone and walk-ins; lash, brow, makeup and skin studios lead with a booking button. Few showed a license number, a cancellation rule or a plain explanation of how they keep tools clean, and many used health claims they can't back.

Put your phone, hours and walk-ins first

Eighteen of the 24 nail salons had a tappable phone number on the first phone screen, but only 3 of the 14 studios did, and 15 salons said they take walk-ins.

1. Click Business info in the left menu. Check your Phone, typed the way you'd say it, like (520) 555-0142, so it's tappable.
2. Under Regular hours, set every day, including the days you're closed. In Note under hours, write "Walk-ins welcome Monday to Saturday; Sunday by appointment".
3. Click Menu, and under Header button turn on Call bar on phones. See Add a call bar on phones.
4. Add an Open today section near the top of your home page.

Add holiday hours ahead of time. To close for the day, use We’re closed today in the Today panel. See Add holiday hours and closures.

Make booking one tap

All 14 lash, brow, makeup and skin studios had a booking link, and 14 of the 24 nail salons did. Most used a service they already pay for, like Square, Vagaro, Fresha, GlossGenius, Acuity or Mindbody.

1. Open Pages, choose your home page and click Add a section. Pick Booking.
2. Set Booking service to yours and paste your booking page link. See Connect a booking calendar.
3. Click Menu and point the Header button at it, with Button text like "Book now".

If you take calls and walk-ins, make Call the main button instead. The Bookings add-on lets people pick a time on your own site, with emails and reminders. See Take bookings on your site. It takes a deposit, but it can't charge a card kept on file after a no-show, and its reminders are emails, not texts.

Type your prices

Thirty of the 38 showed a full menu and 7 showed none. Two put their menus in pictures and one in a PDF, which Google and screen readers can't read and which go out of date.

1. Add a Price list / menu section to a Services & prices page (Pages, New page, Pricing or menu).
2. Make a Group for each kind of service: "Manicures", "Pedicures", "Extensions", "Lashes", "Brows", "Waxing", "Kids".
3. For each service, fill in Name, Price and Time it takes. Use "From" prices where it depends. Add the extras as their own lines: gel, removal, fills, nail art.
4. Add Fine print ("tips are not included" or "included") and a Prices last updated date.

If you have a menu as a photo or PDF, Fill in from a photo or PDF turns it into text. See Fill in a menu from a photo or PDF.

Show one price. Three of the 38 listed a cash price and a higher card price. Card surcharges are banned or capped in some states, and a price that changes at the till gets disputed. Put the card fee in the price, and if you give a cash discount, call it that.

Price by time and technique, not by "ladies" and "men". California and New York bar different prices for similar services because of gender.

Say what happens if someone cancels or is late

Eleven of the 38 stated a rule, and walk-in salons almost never did. The common one is 24 hours' notice and half the price. The rule most nail salons have is lateness: "arrive 10 minutes late and you're a walk-in".

1. Click Pages, then New page, and start from the Basic page template. Call it "Policies".
2. Say, in plain sentences, how much notice you need, any fee or deposit, how late is too late, and how to cancel.
3. Link it from your footer (Menu, then Add footer link), your booking page and your FAQ. With the Bookings add-on, put a short version in Note above the Book button under Settings.

Tell people before they agree. See Take a deposit and Set cancel rules, reminders and emails.

Show your license

Twelve of the 38 said "licensed" and none showed a number. The license that covers nails often isn't the one that covers lashes, brows or facials, and permanent makeup may be licensed by a body-art or health board. Quiki Nails & Lashes said its lash work "is done by licensed aestheticians", which most states wouldn't call the nail license.

1. Click Business info, then Location.
2. Put your license in License number, with its type and state, like "NM Permanent Cosmetic Practitioner #1234". It shows in your footer.
3. In each person's Credentials on Lists, then Edit team, say the license they hold and their training.

Some states ask for it in ads: Nevada requires the salon's license name and number. New York makes salons post licenses and an itemized price list in the shop, so keep your site's list the same. Use your own license if you rent a suite or chair.

Say how you keep it clean

Eighteen of the 38 said something about cleanliness, but "medical-grade" and "hospital-grade" mean nothing in particular. What reassures people is what you do: "tools are sterilized in an autoclave; files and buffers are used once and go home with you; pedicure basins have a fresh liner".

Put it in a Highlights section on your home page and in your FAQ. Name the rule your state board sets, if you follow one.

Say what you do, not what it does to the body

Twelve of the 38 used words like "detox", "soak away toxins", "relieves joint pain", "anti-aging", "balances hormones", "non-toxic" and "hypoallergenic" for pedicures, facials and makeup. The FTC expects evidence for health claims, and an allergic client reads "hypoallergenic" as a promise.

Say what's in it and what happens: "peppermint scrub, warm towels, 20-minute massage". For tints, say "lash and brow tint" accurately: the FDA warns that eyelash and eyebrow dyes can cause serious eye injury and permits only certain professional products.

Lashes, brows and permanent makeup: first visit and aftercare

These can cause allergic reactions and infections. Nine of the 38 mentioned allergies and only 5 gave aftercare.

1. Add a First visit page (Pages, New page, Basic page): the patch test, the consultation, the minimum age, how long it takes, and what to avoid beforehand.
2. Add an Aftercare page, or a section on each service, and link it from the booking page.
3. Say who you are licensed as.

Don't collect health information through your site's forms. Medications, pregnancy and skin conditions belong in your booking tool's intake form or on paper at the visit. Your site isn't built to protect them. A Signed form can hold a policy acknowledgment, photo release or consent, as long as it asks no health questions. See Signed forms and waivers and Forms and your inbox. If you use a New client form, take out the question about allergies.

Show your work

Add a Gallery section or Photo + text sections, and describe each photo, like "Chrome French tips on short gel-X". See Describe your photos.

Ask clients before you post their pictures, in writing for anything on the face or skin, and a parent for a child. Free photos are for atmosphere, not your work.

Show your reviews

Sixteen of the 38 showed some, and 2 showed a rating with a count.

1. Add your best recent Google reviews to your Reviews list.
2. Add a Reviews section to your home page, and your rating and count to Highlights.
3. Paste your Google review link into Leave-a-review link in Business info.

With the Review requests add-on, a friendly email asks clients after a visit. See Reviews and Ask customers for a review. Asking everyone is fine. A free fill only for five stars isn't, and neither is a policy that stops clients reviewing you.

Your team

Add each tech or artist under Lists, then Edit team, with Name, Role, Photo, a Short bio and Credentials. Open Booking button to add "Book with Linh". See Add a booking button for one person.

Kids, parties, gift cards and products

• Kids: about 20 of the 38 mention children. Give kids their own Group in your price list and say the ages.
• Parties and brides: give them a page with how far ahead to book, and a Form for the date and party size.
• Gift cards: with Gift cards and coupons, clients buy a card on your site, you scan it at the till, and it can pay for a booking. See Gift cards and coupons. They can't expire within five years under federal rules.
• Products: press-ons, polish and aftercare kits work in the Online store add-on. Don't sell lash-growth serums with drug ingredients or professional-only brands that forbid online sales. See Sell products with the online store.
• Rebooking: a fill every two or three weeks is a good reason to send a newsletter.

Languages

Your plan includes a Spanish version of your whole site. See Show your site in Spanish. Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese aren't available yet. Meanwhile, add a line in your language beside the phone number, like "Chúng tôi nói tiếng Việt".

Know the rules

This isn't legal advice, and the rules vary by state, so check with your state board. In October 2026 we looked at:

• Licenses. Nails, lashes, esthetics and permanent makeup are often separate. Texas has an eyelash-extension license. New Mexico licenses permanent cosmetics through its body-art board. Check yours.
• Eye products. The FDA says false lashes, extensions and their adhesives are cosmetics, and that permanent tints and dyes have caused serious eye injuries.
• Tattoo inks. The FDA says no color additive is approved for injection into the skin, and local authorities regulate the practice.
• Prices by gender, reviews and photos. The FTC bars fake reviews and rewards for positive ones.
• Card fees. Some states ban or cap surcharges.

Photos that help people find you

With your phone, take the storefront, the inside from the door, each tech at their station, finished nails on a plain background, lash and brow before-and-after (with permission), and your clean tools. See Free photos.

Answer the questions clients ask

Add an FAQ section: Do you take walk-ins? How much is a gel manicure, a full set, a fill? What if I'm late? What's the difference between gel, dip and acrylic? Do you take kids? Are your tools clean? Do you do lashes and brows? In Lists, then FAQs, Suggest questions drafts more. See Use suggested questions.

Tips

• Give your home page a search title with your town and your kind of shop, like "Nail salon in Tucson, AZ". See Set a page's search title and description.
• Match your Google Business Profile to your site: the same name, phone and hours. Pick "Nail salon" as the main category, or "Eyelash salon" for a lash studio.
• Check your site once a season. Nine of the sites we tried didn't load for a reader.